White Won’t Rule Out Liddell-Kimbo Showdown

Apr 14, 2008 6:32 PM John Chandler

Photo property of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

When it comes to Kimbo Slice, opinions vary, especially thoughts held by those that have been involved in mixed martial arts for a long time. Thus has been the case in the past with UFC President Dana White and most recently, his real-life best friend, Chuck Liddell.

However just like Gary Shaw and company, White won’t deny the fact that if given the opportunity, he’d bring Slice over to the UFC. Why? To give him a shot against Liddell of course, well, if he starts beating notable names that is.

“If Kimbo fought anybody that mattered, I would book that tomorrow,” White said. “I’d take Kimbo absolutely seriously, but again, he hasn’t beat anybody. In this sport, it’s all about ‘Who have you beat right now?” And he hasn’t beat anybody. The fact is, Kimbo’s not there yet. He would get destroyed. I heard he just got knocked out by Forrest Griffin last week in a sparring match after a kick to the head.”

While White’s comments concerning Slice and his career so far make sense, it still makes you wonder what his mindset was before signing Brock Lesnar. Then again, Lesnar is an accomplished amateur wrestler while Slice’s previous claim to fame was fighting in the streets of Miami.

A win over James Thompson next month would be a victory over his most legitimate opponent to date. However Thompson still isn’t the type of fighter that will start getting people to take Slice and his skills seriously. Matchups against Brett Rogers and maybe even Ricco Rodriguez may come in time but is Kimbo ready to hit the ground? Time will tell.